The Twilight and the Inferno
by Vicktur
Summary: Their closest night together ended up driving them apart forever. Heleon.
1. Chapter 1

AN: Hope you enjoy. As for my announced projects such as _Armadillo Fever II _and _Kill Your Lover_, they are still in progress. Thanks for the reviews on my past works.

Chapter One: Rhapsodic Memory

* * *

It was cold and dark when Leon woke up. His senses immediately jumped into the conclusion that he was knocked unconscious by something, but the touch of starchy fabric underneath his bare body and the quiet roars of car engines outside reminded him that he was back in civilization; far away from the terrors of the fallen cities infested with zombies. Never did he welcome the sound of motors running and cars honking at each other.

Leon was in a dirty motel room. The only light source came from cheap blinds that barely hid the occasional cars drifting past the streets outside. He didn't know which street they were on. His partner and he went bar hopping and ended up in the poor side of the town. A faint smell of marijuana entered his nostrils. He wanted to clear his throat and fan the smell away with his hand but, he remained still. His eyes slowly trailed to his partner's bare back. Did she know that he was awake?

Helena sat on the edge of the bed. She had her bare body carelessly covered up with the thin sheet of blanket that was provided. Her eyes were locked on the ground, blankly staring into the dirty, carpeted floor. She tried to distract herself by staring into the thick strands of the carpet from the inevitable confrontation she will have to endure. When she heard Leon sitting upright behind her, her heart thumped. She felt her skin flush red. She felt hot in the cold room.

They both felt regret. It was clear to both of them that this shouldn't have happen. They were out celebrating their last mission in Arizona. Not only did they take out their supposed target, they also traced him back to his headquarters and shut it down. Because of their contribution, the southern eastern part of Arizona was confirmed to be a safe haven from the infected. The BSAA rewarded Helena and Leon 3 days of vacation and the first night was spent getting drunk out of their minds. Even being awarded 1 day of vacation was a great deal, especially when they were living in a world where 74% of the land were taken by the infected and terrorists. Threats poured in the hundreds of safe zones that the BSAA agents tirelessly fought to keep from the terrorists and the ever-growing population of the infected. The government received 1,500 crime reports daily but could only take on at most 300 per day. Things were too chaotic in this world; and 3 days of vacation to a BSAA agent was a prize more worthy than money and fame.

Leon and Helena wanted to make their vacation days last and had planned on spending one day together and the rest on their own. But their one night together spiraled out of control; Leon and Helena retreated to a broken down motel room in the corner of the city. They asked for two beds but ended up sleeping on one. It was Helena who initiated it first, grabbing Leon and pressing her lips against his as soon as he closed the suite door behind him. Leon knew she was drunk and he was too; but he couldn't bring himself to break free. He grabbed her body and pulled her close till there was no space nor clothing left between them. He threw her on the bed and climbed on top of her quickly, afraid of wasting a single second. She scratched him and bit his shoulder as he thrust all of his repressed lust into her. Her moans blocked out all his trained senses and sent him into a hole of euphoria. It felt like a dream. He thought it was a dream.

It was 6am when Leon woke up. Realizing that he was on vacation, he briefly dozed back to sleep until a sharp pain inside his head reminded him of the hours before. He felt guilt and shame. He had taken advantage of Helena when she was drunk. His bottled up feelings for this partner took advantage of her drunk state. He tried to think of a way to start his apology. He felt fear from the thought of Helena never wanting to speak to him ever again. She was his partner and his close friend, and he betrayed her trust. He would lose a large part of his life if she decided to leave; and he didn't want it. But after what he had done, he was expecting it and mentally tried to come into terms with it.

He loved Helena. After spending so many years together, he grew attracted to his tough, hard-headed partner. At first, he thought the trauma they experienced was what made him crave her, but it wasn't. Helena would be in his thoughts when they parted to cover more ground while on duty; she would come out in his dreams, posing as his lover and caused Leon to oversleep multiple times; and while they were together, he would make sure he was prepared for anything, to protect his partner.

Before Leon could speak, Helena broke the silence first. Under her breath, she softly murmured,

"This is my first."

Leon silently stared into the small television across from them, where a weather man forecasted a heavy storm coming. From the corner of his eye, he saw Helena clutch the blanket closer to her. He wanted to say something but didn't know what. His heart beat quickened and he felt his body got chills as he inhaled softly. What could he say to her? What _should_ he say? He had taken her virginity when they were drunk. Was there any combination of words in this world that can ease Leon's guilt and undo the damage he had done to Helena? Leon continued to sit in silence, hoping that Helena would break the silence once more.

Eventually Helena slipped out of the covers to pick up her discarded shirt on the floor. She silently cursed when her eye located her underwear in the corner of the room, sitting on a chair's armrest. Leon took notice and wore his boxers, which were thankfully on his side of the bed. He then stood up and walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind him. He could hear Helena stand up and walk over to the chair. Her steps on the weak, wooden floor made creaks with each step. Leon knew Helena wanted nothing more than to get out of this place they were in. He silently stood beside the door and listened as Helena strode around the room, picking up her belongings.

It was when he heard the doorknob turn, he opened the bathroom door and caught her trying to leave. Helena wore a startled face and Leon tried to say something to prevent her from leaving. But his throat closed up and all he could muster out weakly was, "Don't go."

Helena diverted from his gaze. An uneasy feeling from her stomach crept up to her head, giving her a slight headache. She was hoping to leave before Leon could find her. She needed a long time alone to figure out what she was feeling.

Her eyes went back to Leon when she saw his lips moving from the corner of her eye.

"What I did to you…is wrong…There's no words I can think of to describe my shame." It was Leon's turn to divert his eyes to the floor. "I can't believe I did this to you…I…I raped you, Helena."

Helena wore a discomforted face at the word 'rape'. She knew what they were doing. Even if she was drunk, she had full control of her body. She just finally got liquid courage to help her do what she always wanted to do. Her eyes slowly went back to Leon, whose face was twisted into disgust. She wanted to say that it wasn't rape. That she wanted this all along. But how can she? Leon viewed her as his partner. If she were to tell him that she loved him, then what would happen to them? Leon was in love with Ada Wong, the Chinese American terrorist that evaded the BSAA longer than any other terrorists. They had a twisted relationship, but Helena could feel the love and care they had for each other. And she couldn't allow herself to be the strain on their relationship. What Leon felt from what happened was not the same as her. He felt regret.

"No…" Helena started. She hesitated for a second, then rested her hand on top of Leon's shaking hand. Leon gazed her at softly then resumed his gaze back on the floor. "This was both our faults, Leon."

Leon felt a pang of pain from her words. The night they were the closest to each other might be the one that drives them apart. His sting of pain was soothed by Helena's sudden touch on his hand. Her hands were rough from firing guns all day but they were warm, and Leon felt a home sickening comfort from them. Helena gave him a weak smile and put her hand underneath his hand so that she was holding onto his one hand, gently.

"Let's never speak of this night ever again," Helena said, almost painfully. Leon heard a faint quivering between her words and felt even more guilt. Without saying anything, he nodded and stepped aside for Helena to step out. He stood silently as Helena closed the door behind her with a soft _click_. He remained at the doorstep, listening to Helena's steps slowly fade away. Once he couldn't hear her presence anymore, Leon walked to the bed tirelessly and collapsed onto the creaky bed. With his face pressed onto the cheap fabric of the bed, he could smell sweat and cheap detergent that had a faint smell of oranges. Normally, Leon would have pulled himself up from the disgusting smell but, all he could think about was his partner and how he betrayed her.

And how he lost the chance to tell her.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two: Rhapsodic Memory II

* * *

The rest of their vacation was spent quietly and privately. Leon and Helena did not call each other like they would have done on a normal day. Leon overslept on his second day of vacation because Helena did not call him to wake him up for a morning jog or a practice match. Helena forgot to take her stress medication because Leon was not there to remind her. Even if it was only the first day without each other, Leon and Helena both suffered the painful reminder of the loss of each other from their side.

When their last day of vacation arrived to an end, they both feared the inevitable meet. Helena feared that Leon would be disgusted that she seduced him and refuse to look at her. Leon feared that Helena would see him as a monster from here on. On the last night of her vacation, Helena sank her worries with distracting news broadcasts on her couch. On her lap, she had a plate of dinner consisting of steak, spinach salad, and steamed carrots she made earlier. She sat picking at her food, wearing her pajamas that was a loose gray t-shirt and black sweats. Her eyes were locked on the television screen, determined to keep out thoughts of her partner. The reporter wore a grave face as he made the announcement. Another safe zone had fallen to the hands of the bio-terrorists. She scowled at the group that claimed the attack. It was the E Lai.

There were hundreds of terrorist groups, all vying to become the supreme terrorist group in the world. In United States, the #1 terrorist group was, the Purge, a group started by teenagers watching too many movies that eventually grew into a dangerously large scale. They were notorious for taking over the eastern giant safe zones, including New York, Pennsylvania, and Vermont that were previously heavily fortified and housed more than 10,000 soldiers to defend the safe zones. Like the other terrorist groups, the Purge had a giant collection of the infection that they breed.

However, the Purge was nothing compared to the International scale E Lai was measured on. The E Lai was part of a bigger group in the past, the Sauberung Group. Sauberung was the terrorist group that started the world war between humanity and the infected. The leader of Sauberung, Matthew Alpine, released the infected through major cities using his secret underground tunnels to transport them. He called the day of the chaotic massacre, "The liquidation day for humanity," that echoed through the throats of thousands of terrorists that praised him. Matthew Alpine accused the government of hoarding money and waged a war against anyone who stood against his path. He created thousands of infected subjects, all of which were tested on the public mass.

The war waged for 14 months till Alpine's madness finally got a hold of his henchmen. Alpine's men turned against him and Sauberung fell apart into smaller groups from the civil war. Many of these small groups quickly perished from internal wars or from other terrorist groups looking to cut competition; and E Lai was one of them. The E Lai came out of the civil war, controlling more than 40% of Sauberung's operations and artillery, which helped them claim the #1 seat of threat to the United Nations.

Helena had once gone for an undercover mission to take out one of the many commanders under the E Lai's control. However, she and Leon were overwhelmed with the amount of firepower and backup the E Lai had and were forced to abandon their mission. She hated running away from a mission, but she knew, if she had stayed she wouldn't be alive today. The United Nations' intellect had severely underestimated the amount of communication that went between the hundreds of commanders and the mysterious leader of the E Lai.

Helena, among the thousands of people that survived the Liquidation Day, despised the E Lai. They were widely known to practice misogynistic experiments to further their knowledge in the infected. Many women were kidnapped from safe zones and were practiced upon. They were raped and then forced to give birth until they died of exhaustion. Boys would go into military training to become bloodthirsty as their fathers; and girls would suffer the same fate as their mother, becoming a birthing machine. Once a woman entered her menopause, she would be turned in for experimenting. If a boy refused to kill or showed weakness, he would be thrown in there as well.

Helena gazed at her medium rare steak and got sick to her stomach at the sight of the blood. The rumors that came from the other side of the walls of the E Lai were too vivid, too insane to be real. She heard many tales from the spies that ventured past the walls of the terrifying military utopia. How the men raped little girls while the little boys laughed, how women who gave birth with defects would be thrown into the darkest slums where she would disappear forever. One of the spies blew up his cover trying to sneak a pregnant 14 year old with him back home. The poor girl had died of shock trying to deliver the baby just days before his extraction. Helena shuddered at the thought of a little girl carrying a swollen belly around wherever she went. She was grateful she was in here in the safe zone. However, she felt remorse and pain for the women and men that were stuck behind the walls of the E Lai.

Helena's eyes trailed to a folder that rested on her dining table. Her next mission would put the gears in motion to bring the fall upon the E Lai. She persisted and fought for months and the BSAA had finally accepted her demands to be put on the mission no one wanted to do. They didn't want to send in one of their best agents but someone needed to be behind the walls of the E Lai. It was a mission Helena didn't know how long it would be. All she knew was, if she was successful, she can help put a permanent end to the misery in the world.

Helena's eyes narrowed and felt chills on her skin. She had planned on going alone but it was inevitable that Leon found out. As soon as he heard about what Helena was planning to do, he signed up. Helena was mad at first, but soon realized she was literally taking on an entire army on her own. She needed help wherever she could get and she knew Leon was worth more than 6 BSAA agents combined. She believed that with Leon, she can take on anything. But that didn't help her ease her worry for his safety.

Helena turned the television off. The bad news was depressing her. She didn't bother switching to another channel when there was only one channel available. No one couldn't afford the luxury of living in complete bliss. The single online channel broadcasted news 24/7, updating the people with the slightest change within the world.

She turned her attention to her large cracked window that showed the ruined cityscape. The dark red skies bathed the entire cityscape in an eerie, warm glow. Nearly all the windows of each buildings were shattered and streets were destroyed by the infected swarm that broke into this city years ago. The city never recovered from the swarm and the people built their livings around it because they never knew when they would be attacked again. There was no point in rebuilding a city if the threat was still at large. Helena pulled a plank from underneath the window and used it to cover a large crack on the window that was letting the cold air in. It was starting to get cold now that autumn has arrived.

Loud, heavy knocks from her door surprised her. "Agent Harper," a deep voice called from the other side of the door.

Helena recognized the voice. It was her operation coordinator and dispatcher, Jason Squalo. Since war between the terrorists and United Nations started, all ranked agents, like Leon and Helena were assigned their own operation coordinator. When the war stroke, many people heeded to the calls of their country and stepped up to help in any way they can. Jason Squalo was one of them. Leon kept Hunnigan and Helena was assigned to Squalo.

Squalo, much like Hunnigan, was a professional agent dedicated to his work. Whereas Hunnigan eventually softened up to Leon and Helena, Squalo refused to even budge an inch of opening to his assigned agent. He was a man in his late-30s, liked eating grilled garlic squid so much his fingers always smelled of them, and reading books. The closest thing Helena got to a connection with Squalo was him recommending books for her to read. She could always smell the faint stench of garlic on the books he lent her.

"Agent Harper, open up _immediately_," Squalo muttered. The tone of his voice was hasty and full of panic.

Helena opened her door quickly and was greeted by a team of fully geared BSAA agents carrying duffle bags. They entered her suite before she could say anything. Squalo stepped in after them and closed the door behind him. He was a very tall man with a thin build. He was wearing his usual attire of a black turtleneck and gray slacks. His short black hair was neatly combed back. To Helena, Squalo was a man of enigma, with brown eyes that refused to reflect anything.

"What's going on?" Helena asked as she watched BSAA agents take out equipment from the duffle bags. They quickly handed Helena a black thermal turtleneck and matching sweats. Helena wordlessly took them and wore them, watching Squalo walk through her living room. Squalo picked up the E Lai profile from her couch and handed to her. The single gesture stopped Helena's heart in its tracks.

"The E Lai has dropped shores into the Purge's territory as you know. However, they are being pushed out by the Purge's reinforcements. They are on the verge of being extracted back into their main base. This is the opportunity we've been waiting for." Squalo clasped his hand on Helena's shoulder forcefully. "It's the opportunity _you_ have been waiting for."

"What about Leon? Is he notified too?" Helena asked.

"I'm sorry. Agent Kennedy has been transferred to a different mission," Squalo replied. Helena's sucked in her breath sharply. She should be happy that he wasn't coming with her to this dangerous mission. "He will not be assisting you, but we won't be sending you alone." Squalo motioned to the 4 BSAA agents in the room with them with a tilt of his head. "They will go with you. And I will also be there with you through the radio, helping you. You won't need Leon with us by your side."

Helena nodded as a BSAA agent strapped a heavy bullet proof vest on her while another strapped knee-guards on her. Squalo continued his assessment of the mission. "The E Lai and the Purge are at war right now but, it won't last long. From our sources, the E Lai has scheduled an extraction for their men in 0400 hours. If we leave now, we will have just enough time for you and your team to sneak onto a copter. Your job is to secure you and your team in a copter heading to E Lai's land. Your current attire won't do so once you get to a safe point, wear the uniform inside your bag. It's an old E Lai uniform and should get you unnoticed. Don't wear it until you get to the safe point or else you might end up getting shot by one of ours."

"I'm a woman, I will get caught," Helena said. "I'll need a helmet to cover my gender."

"It's all covered. We've already sent in a team to secure a safe house for you to gather. I'll make sure they will have a helmet for you to wear."

Helena lowered her eyes. A BSAA agent held a pair of black boots in front of her. She took them and slipped them on her feet and fastened them tightly. She took her duffle bag from one of the BSAA agents and threw it over her shoulder. Squalo gave her one more pat on her shoulder and she walked out of her suite with the agents trailing right behind her.

Now the time came for her dangerous mission, Helena felt herself engulfed with fear and anticipation. She was heading to the E Lai, the zone where the few agents that took her mission and survived paid a heavy price with their sanity.

There was a heavy feeling in her chest. She knew it was obvious. She was terrified to go without Leon by her side, protecting her. She felt vulnerable, even with 4 highly trained BSAA agents walking alongside her.

Even though she knew she could take on anything, without Leon, she felt like she was walking in an open road in a quarantined city without a gun.

* * *

Leon felt something cold press up against his bare neck. He raised his head from the table he was dozing off on. It was Chris, holding a water bottle. Leon grunted and sat upright on his chair, lazily.

"Sleeping at the bar now, Leon?" Chris said. He took a seat next to Leon and cleared away the empty beer bottles on the table and put them on the floor.

"You got me," Leon said bitterly. He rubbed his eyes. After he left the motel, he headed straight for the bar he frequented and camped all day, surrounded by alcohol and a feeling of familiarity. He remembered getting wasted every time he failed a mission. But now that the world was dying, he didn't consider the fact that he could drink himself to death and free himself from the stress. All because he couldn't bear the thought of leaving Helena alone in a world like this.

"What happened to you?" Chris asked. "Are you all right?"

Leon placed his arms on the table and raised his hand to call on the waitress. Chris lowered Leon's arm and glanced at the water bottle. Leon scoffed and looked at Chris. "I thought you would be at Las Vegas for 2 more weeks. What are you doing here?"

A darkened expression fell over Chris' face. "That's why I'm here. We're losing Nevada." He spoke quietly, so that the people in the bar wouldn't hear them. The last thing they needed was to cause panic. Leon woke up from his drunk stance and stared at Chris, trying to figure out if he heard the words right.

"The Noches Boys surrendered to the Purge bastards. They were the last standing force against the Purge in the Western zone. Those two fucks head-butting gave us time to build a fortitude to protect Las Vegas. But the Noches Boys surrendered and the wall isn't even close to being finished. At this rate, the Purge has a good chance of taking control of the Las Vegas safe zone."

Leon stared at Chris. "The E Lai are already locking horns with the Purge's eastern states," Leon said. "What happens if the Purge takes the Las Vegas zone?"

"It's critical that we protect the Las Vegas safe zone because they are linked to the biggest safe zone in the western side: the Los Angles safe zone. Before Los Angeles was taken by the Noches Boys, the President called for an underground route between the two cities. The Noches Boys nor the Purge knows about this. That's why it's critical that we protect the Las Vegas safe zone. Los Angeles safe zone is big enough to put all of the people in. And we will have the Las Vegas zone as a barricade to stop any oncoming attackers."

"If this is all so important…why are you here?" Leon said.

Chris took a deep sigh and rubbed his temples. "I need your help."

Leon stared at him. "…What?"

"I need you to come with me. I need you to spear head a task force dedicated to wiping out the Purge's food supplies. The Las Vegas safe zone is in the middle of the desert. If Purge had little food and water—

"I can't go."

Chris gave Leon a hardened look. "Are you listening to me? The Las Vegas Safe Zone is our ticket to insuring that we have a place to go to in case Arizona falls. Once Purge' headquarters in New York falls, all E Lai has to do is cross the empty states all the way to Arizona. With their infected riders, they will get to us in a matter of days."

"It's not going to be any easier for them to cross those states in a matter of days. Even with their own infected leading the way, it won't be a walk in the park for them to navigate through the millions of infected already wandering around between the states."

"God damn it, Leon-. " Chris paused for a second and sighed. "People from Texas are coming into Arizona by the hundreds. Arizona is not big enough to fit all of them in here. We are very low on food supplies."

"Helena and I are expecting a mission into E Lai soon. We already signed up. End of discussion, Chris."

Chris closed his eyes in contempt and shook his head. "_God damn it._ _No wonder they asked me to come to you so early_," he scowled.

Leon stared at him. "What are you talking about?"

Chris pursed his lips and let out a deep sigh. "They sent Helena on the mission alone."

.

2 days later, all connections to Helena and her team was lost.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** I'm sorry for the sudden hiatus. I lost my USB that contained my files for this stories and other works. This had happened to me before so I became discouraged and put off writing for months to wallow in my clumsy mistake. I can't say that I'm back for good and so my updates will be sporadic.

As always, thank you very much for the reviews. It means a lot that you guys took the time to write how you felt about my chapters.

* * *

Chapter Three: The Unwanted Recall

* * *

"_I can't…I can't…" her voice cracked out in a hoarse cry._

_She tossed and turned on the hospital bed, her mind engulfed with fear and panic. Beads of sweat trailed down her wet face as Leon helplessly watched from her side. His hands were on her shoulders, trying to stop her feverish tossing. Nurses nearby watched silently, not knowing what they should do._

"_Helena, it's all in your head," Leon pleaded. "You are here alive, with me."_

_Helena's eyes passed Leon and stared at the window with widened eyes. Tears dripped from her eyes and her heart beat quickened. Her mouth gaped open and she gasped shakenly. She was terrified at what she saw. She knew all well where she was._

_The world had ended and she died with it._

"_I'm in hell," she choked. Her eyes were frozen on the red skies. "I'm in hell!"_

Leon snapped out of his mind as Hunnigan sat in front of him. There was two mugs on the table and Hunnigan moved one towards him. She had made the tea earlier but Leon did not come to the table until hours later, when he realized that Hunnigan had come to visit him. The teabags in the mug had been soaked for too long and made the tea darker than it was. Leon was at his home and had spent many nights as a reclusive hermit, too obsessed at where Helena had disappeared to. It was evening so the skies were redder and made his room look drowsy. His walls were covered with hundreds of maps and information he bought off shady E Lai rouges. He knew himself that he was so desperate to find his lost partner. The sleepless nights and countless nightmares of her suffering at the hands of E Lai soldiers tormented him endlessly. It had only been 2 months since her disappearance and yet, he was nowhere close to taking his first step to finding Helena.

Leon felt Hunnigan's warm hand on his worn out palm. He returned to his sense and gazed at her. She wore a tiring smile and it calmed Leon temporarily. The war had been hard on Hunnigan as well. With countless crimes happening every day, she was on duty 16 hours a day. She barely ate and only slept an hour or 2; sometimes 4, if she was feeling especially tired. No matter how many times the higher ups asked her to rest, she refused, feeling the burden of guilt whenever innocent civilians were killed during her off duty.

Leon clasped his hand on top of Hunnigan's hand with a worn out sigh. She became what he used to be in the past. Whenever he failed his mission or whenever his actions got people killed, he drank himself to oblivion. Leon still fought to protect people but secretly, he had given up the passion once the E Lai came into light. There was no use beating himself up to care about the strangers that died every day. It was taxing and it was useless. Instead, he focused on protecting those he loved. It went against his nature as a policeman but, with losing so many people he loved to the war, he felt like he deserved to be selfish for once.

"Everyone is worried about you, Leon," Hunnigan spoke softly. Leon could see the bags under her eyes. She was so tired yet, she came to check up on him whenever she had time off. Leon had kept trying to persuade her to rest but she refused, not wanting to unless Leon did the same. "They would give your job back if you came back."

Leon lifted his hand off of Hunnigan's hand. "How would that help me?" he asked bitterly. "No one can help me at the BSAA. They made me stop looking for her."

Hunnigan wore a hurtful look. "Leon, what happened to Helena…" she trailed off. She lowered her head with sadness. It had hurt Hunnigan deeply as well when Helena disappeared. They were soul sisters, bonding with each other after Helena lost her own sister to the virus.

Hunnigan brought her mug to her lips but did not take a sip. "I just wish you would take a break from this." She then took a short sip and placed the mug down. Hunnigan could not taste the strong tea from her mug. Like Leon, she was too emotionally exhausted to even enjoy eating and drinking.

Leon leaned against his chair with a tired expression. He was once again in the same conversation with Hunnigan he had over a thousand times. "I can't take a break while Helena is in E Lai. I can't abandon her, Hunnigan."

Hunnigan looked as if she was going to regret her next words. She bit her lips and looked contemplated. "What if…"

Leon gazed at her. Hunnigan held the mug in her hands tightly.

_"What if she's dead?"_

Leon slammed his hands on the table, standing abruptly and knocking his chair down in the process. His head was lowered, unable to bring himself to show Hunnigan his angered side. His mug fell over and dripped tea all over the ground.

Hunnigan, however, was not taken back at his behavior. She sat silently, staring at Leon's stance. She knew she had to say it. Leon was driving himself mad searching for Helena and Hunnigan couldn't just let Leon waste his life away for someone who could be dead-even if that someone was also someone Hunnigan cared deeply for.

"Please, leave," Leon muttered.

Hunnigan stood up. "I just want to help you, Leon. You can't chase a ghost forever," she said softly.

As Hunnigan shut the door behind her, Leon stood frozen in his stance. Suddenly, a trail of tears cascaded from his eyes and onto the table. He knew there was a strong possibility that Hunnigan was right. Helena was a resourceful agent; no matter how many odds were against her, she always found a way to stay safe. And if she was safe, she would have found a way to contact Leon or at least her coordinator, Squalo, who was protective of Helena as much as Leon was.

Leon covered his mouth to suppress his emotional cry. The probability of Helena already dead was too high for him to accept. E Lai was a god forsaken place. He would rather have Helena dead than have her witness another minute at hell; yet, he also selfishly wished that she would have struggled on living so they would be reunited one day.

Leon slowly fell to his knees, endlessly mourning for the loss of his partner. He loved her so much. The last night they spent together ended too bitter for him to accept that this was the last time he would see her. He knew his delusion and love for Helena made him believe that somehow he knew she was alive. He had gone through everything with her, it was impossible for him to see a future without her.

The wretched feeling took over Leon and he let out an anguished cry. Why, out of all the people in the world, does he have to lose so many people? He had already lost his family, some of his dear friends, and now, he lost the woman he loved more than this goddamn world he lived in.

Leon's eyes moved upwards at a bare part of wall, where the papers and information of E Lai did not touch. It was the framed picture of Helena when she graduated from the BSAA acceptance program. Leon stood in the picture next to her, with a large smile. Leon's eyes trailed to Helena and her sincere smile made his eyes swell up with tears again. _She would not have wanted this. She would not have wanted me to abandon the world for her._ Leon rose up and wiped away his tears. Leon knew he had to give up one day. He could not chase after her disappearance forever, even if he wanted to. He still had Hunnigan, Chris, Ada...and so many other people in the BSAA that depended on him. He gazed at the large wall filled with papers and scrawled out pen marks. All the work he did, he couldn't just give it up. Even if he still had no leads and mountains of information that didn't make sense together, he didn't want to give up.

"One day," Leon spoke. He walked over to the framed picture of Helena and him. He stared longingly at Helena.

"But not today."

* * *

-7 Weeks later-

Hunnigan woke up with a gasp. She had fallen asleep at her work desk again. Her colleagues sighed as Hunnigan resumed her work. They had hoped that she would at least sleep for another hour or so. Her fingers resumed clicking and rattling against the old keyboard with no pause. Hunnigan never touched the backspace button as she felt if she were to even make a mistake that wasted a single second, she would cause a death somewhere. The strictness with herself made her lose hair and skin sag but, she didn't care.

Hunnigan held herself accountable when Helena disappeared. Squalo repeated on numerous occasions that she wasn't at fault but, Hunnigan knew it wasn't true. Before all contacts were cut off from Helena and her team, Helena made one last call to Hunnigan, asking for an extraction point. But Hunnigan made a fatal mistake when she accidentally added a wrong number to the coordinates due to panicking. She was hearing screams and Helena's breathless gasps. Before she could send Helena the correct coordinates, she lost the call.

The mistake forever haunted Hunnigan and she vowed to never let her emotions get in the way. She typed at her keyboard until she felt like she could continue to work while she slept. She never made a mistake at her computer and carried herself with strict standards since the incident. The work was literally killing her but, she never felt comfortable taking too much time from work.

Even though she had told Leon to give up searching for Helena, Hunnigan herself never gave up. She still clung onto hope that Helena was alive and could call her at any second. Every couple of minutes, her eyes would dart to her cell phone from the computer screen, anticipating a call from Helena. Whenever her phone would ring, her heart would flutter and then drop in anguish when it wasn't Helena. It hurt every time it happened.

From her peripheral vision, she saw Leon walking past her office. He was returning from his Nevada patrol with Chris. Leon's return was a small joy in her gray life. She was glad he took her advice even if she felt conflicted in persuading him to forget about Helena. How could she tell Leon to give up when she herself was waiting for Helena's return?

Hunnigan brushed away her thoughts. She had work to do.

A lady in her 30s entered Hunnigan's office with a breathless smile. "Did you hear?"

Hunnigan knew her as 'Elly from the reception desk'. Elly had the habit of wanting to be the first ones to spread wonderful news. Hunnigan appreciated her positive outlook on life. Without taking her eyes off the screen, she replied, "What?"

"Agent Kennedy said the entire Nevada state is free!" Elly said gleefully. "It's that amazing good news?"

Hunnigan broke a small smile. "That's wonderful. When are we planning the construction for a new base?"

Elly leaned against the doorframe. "They already opened up sign ups to move to the Nevada zone. I might leave dry Arizona behind and stay near the coastlines of California. I feel safer near oceans." Elly sighed. She turned her head towards Hunnigan. "Will you come too?"

Hunnigan briefly stopped typing to stretch her fingers. "I don't think so. I don't need a change of scenery."

Elly looked upset. "Why not? I heard the Las Vegas zone can't be breached from the outside. You know, because that one billionaire poured money into making it insanely secure before everything went to shit from the inside."

"The sky is the same everywhere," Hunnigan said flatly.

Ella smiled softly and paused for a bit. "…You're right. There would be no point, huh?"

Hunnigan felt regretful in her words. She stopped typing and smiled at Elly. "I would love to smell the ocean though."

Elly chuckled. "I wouldn't mind the fresh fish I heard they eat there."

Hunnigan laughed softly as her phone rang. She glanced down and quieted her heart beats. It was Squalo.

Elly walked away to spread the news of Leon and Chris' successful mission while Hunnigan answered the call.

"Yes, Squalo? What do you need?" Hunnigan resumed typing away at her computer.

Squalo's usual calm demeanor was gone from his voice. "Hunnigan, I need you to get to the border _immediately_."

Hunnigan stopped typing. She felt uneasy. "What is it?" she asked. "What's going on?"

"Did you contact Agent Kennedy?" Squalo asked someone in the background.

She stood up from her desk. "What is it, Squalo? Tell me what's happening," Hunnigan pressed, unable to concentrate. She felt her heart beat. Did they find Helena? Hunnigan prayed in her mind that they had retrieved Helena safe and sound.

"We found an ambush party of E Lai," Squalo spoke. "They are closer than we thought. This is very bad."

Hunnigan narrowed her eyes. Her shoulders drooped and her eyes went blank. "Oh...I see."

"We had an anonymous tip that there was a group of soldiers hiding around here in the alleys. Can you believe it?"

Hunnigan sat back down, barely understanding what Squalo had said. "Did you track the tip?" she asked. She sounded disinterested but she knew that she should be worried that the E Lai was on their grounds without getting detected. If there was already a group hiding near the borders of the Arizona frontier, there could possibly be others.

"No, we couldn't. I'm at the border with other agents right now. The agents are telling me this isn't a scouting group or an ambush party."

Hunnigan's interest perked up. "What do you mean? Who are they? Rouges? Refugees?"

"They're telling me it's an escort party. These soldiers are equipped to the bone."

"What do you mean? Who are they escorting?"

"We're not sure. We are still getting them out of where they were hiding. They killed a lot of our men. We're finding bodies of some of our missing agents inside. Looks like they killed our patrolling agents and took their clothes. We need to up our identity checker and border control."

Hunnigan heard Squalo's breathless gasp. "My god..." he whispered. "This can't be..."

"What is it, Squalo?"

Hunnigan glanced up just to see Leon and Chris dash by with other agents trailing behind them.

Hunnigan remained still for a brief moment. _Could this be? _

"Please..." she whispered. She felt chills creeping up her body. She breathed slowly and her heart beats quickened once again. Tears were forming in her weary eyes as she gripped her phone tighter. Her chest felt heavy and she felt like she couldn't breathe properly. Elly appeared in front of her with a sobbing face. Hunnigan stared at her silently. _Please, no. Please, god. Please, no. _

"Please don't tell me you've found her body," she whispered into the phone as tears fell from her eyes. _Don't tell me, I don't want to hear it._

Squalo stared with wide eyes as the BSAA agents escorted Helena out of the burrows. She squinted at the flashlights that were on her. Other BSAA agents stood stunned in silence as Helena stood calmly in front of them, holding her protruded belly.

Hunnigan watched as Elly's sobbing face slowly turned into a joyous smile. "Did you hear the good news, Hunnigan?" she asked.

"She's alive, Hunnigan," Squalo spoke.

Elly screamed as Hunnigan fainted on the floor.


End file.
